The Rise of Nightshade
by ClockwerkOrange
Summary: Knothole and all of Mobius is in chaos. The King and Queen have been assassinated. Prince Elias and Princess Sally are gone, and she's gone insane. Then, a mysterious masked Mobian offers his assistance. Review, please, or I'll just die a little inside...
1. Prologue

_It was on that night in Knothole that it had happened. King Acorn's best men had been sent out on a sabotage mission on Doctor Robotnik's new attack submarine. Castle Acorn was quiet._

_The King and Queen were asleep, and they didn't even stir when a disguised Mobian crept into King Acorn's quarters. King Acorn silently let out an expression of shock when the sword was plunged deep within his chest, piercing his heart. He died quickly. The Queen screamed, looked between the assassin and her slaughtered husband, jumped from the bed, dodged a swing from the already bloodstained sword that had taken the life of the King, and then grabbed an ornate sword on display above the fireplace._

_She swung it at the assassin, a vaguely Mobian figure clothed in all black, and he deflected the attack with his own sword. Queen Alicia yelled loudly as she pulled back the sword for another swing. She stopped abruptly, and the sword clattered to the floor._

_The assassin tapped the communicator on his wrist._

_"Doctor," he began, speaking into the communicator that was now glowing green, "The King and Queen are dead."_

_"Good," a scratchy voice replied over the radio, "Take care of the rest, and then come back to Robotropolis and I'll make sure you get your reward."_

_____

_The assassin walked quietly out of the castle, making sure not to alert any of the few guards that had heard the noise. He took another hallway out._

_Among the guards that had heard the ruckus and gone up to investigate was the princess, Sally Acorn. Her eyes darted between the King, eyes wide open and staring at the ceiling, blood still staining the bed where he lay, and the Queen, her mother, who lay on the ground, eyes closed, with a loose grip around a decorated sword. Sally did not faint. She did not cry. She simply stared. Sally's mind, her life, and her world shattered at that exact second._

_She stared when one of the remaining royal guard members, Hershey the Cat, put her hand on her shoulder. Tears ran down Hershey's face, but not Sally's. Doctor Quack, the Royal Physician, put his hand on the Queen's neck. He shook his head._

_Sally stared at him, and began to laugh._

_Hershey took her hand off of her shoulder and stared at her blankly. The royal guard stared at her, too. The laughter was getting louder now. Doctor Quack slowly turned around and looked at the princess with a deeply disturbed expression._

_Sally covered her mouth with her hand, but continued laughing._

_"Sal? Sal?!" a voice called, getting rapidly closer. Sonic the Hedgehog himself walked through the door. He looked at the king, the queen, and then at the princess._

_"Sal..." he whispered._

_"It's okay, Sonic!" she said quietly, smiling. "Everything's fine!" She looked around her at all of the eyes staring at her. She had another quick burst of laughter, and then quieted. "Everything's fine," she repeated. "Doctor Quack, what's wrong with my p-p-parents...?" she trailed off. She resumed laughing quietly._

_"Sonic..." Hershey frowned. "Doctor Quack, could you...?"_

_The Royal Physician nodded, and put a hand on Sally's shoulder, leading her away. She was still laughing maniacally._

_The Royal Guard, Sonic, and Hershey stood inside the room. It began to rain._

_____

_Prince Elias was of the House of Acorn, but he had renounced his ties to the throne and chosen a simple life as a commoner. He had a wife, and life was peaceful, even with a war raging on against Doctor Robotnik._

_Prince Elias pulled the kitchen knife out of the assassin's chest._

_"What did you do to my family...?" he asked quietly._

_"Hah... they're dead!" the assassin replied, coughing up blood and unable to move._

_"As you soon will be," Prince Elias replied, holding the knife sideways in front of the killer's - Nack the Weasel's - throat._

_"There will be more, and they'll make sure that you and your sister b-"_

_Silence._

_Prince Elias closed his eyes._

_"Revenge..."_


	2. Royalty and Rebels

_One week after the assassinations._

"Sally? You have a visitor," Doctor Quack said kindly, walking her to the front office of the Knothole Hospital.

Sally was silent, and she looked at the floor. She slowly looked up, however, and met the eyes of a blue hedgehog.

"Have we met somewhere before?" Sally asked in a strained manner, like she hadn't spoken in several days.

"That's the first time she's spoken in several days!" Doctor Quack commented.

"Sal?" Sonic asked, taking her hand. "You know who I am..."

Sally cocked her head. "Well, you do look _sort of_ familiar." Her eyes narrowed. "You're not going to tranquilize me, right?"

"Easy, Sally," Sonic said. He looked at the doctor. "Does she remember anything? What's wrong with her?"

"I'm not sure. First, she was hysterical..." Doctor Quack said, looking at Sally who was gazing off into space. "She kept laughing and talking to herself... then, after a day, she became extremely violent. We... _did_ have to tranquilize her. It wore off, though, but by that time she just sat on her bed quietly, and sometimes changed positions. We... kind of had to check whether she was dead. She doesn't speak much at all anymore..." Doctor Quack sighed. "Well, until just then. I think her mental issues have something to do with her developing another personality. Multiple personalities, you know. She's unstable."

"So, what was your name?" Sally asked with no emotion in her voice.

"Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog...?" Sonic replied in a venturing tone.

"Right... well, apparently you know who I am," she commented quietly.

"Yeah," Sonic said.

"Doctor Quack, I don't feel well," she said.

"Okay, Sally, I'll just take you back..." Doctor Quack said, guiding her to the hallway.

"We're under attack! We're under attack!" a guard shouted outside. A few startled Mobians were running away from something, but Sonic couldn't tell what through the window.

An explosion near the hospital blew the windows, door, and parts of the wall apart.

"_My hospital!_" Doctor Quack screamed as he fell to his knees in anguish.

"Well, good luck! I'm out of here!" Sally yelled as she jumped through the ruined doorway, and out of the ruined hospital.

"My patient just ran off?" Doctor Quack muttered blankly. "Sonic, she's mentally ill."

"I'll get her!" Sonic said, running out of the hospital. He saw a citizen of Knothole with her baby, cowering in the face of one of Doctor Robotnik's robots. He looked from her to the retreating Princess Sally. "Hang on, lady!"

Sonic ran to the citizen with her baby, knowing that, with his super-speed, he would definitely have enough time to grab Sally as well. He punched the robot square in the face, and then pushed it into a decorative fountain.

"Shocking!" Sonic commented, as another robot smacked him in the back of the head. The entire world faded into darkness. Many Mobians disappeared in the attack, and on the list of those lost was Princess Sally.

___

_One month after the attack on Knothole Village, in a survivor's encampment. _

A masked figure walked to the center of the camp, but everyone continued walking in the directions that they were before he did so. The masked figure cleared his throat, and a few Mobians paused to look at him.

"People of Whiteleaf Town! For too long the false reign of Doctor Robotnik over the areas surrounding ours has been oppressive, hateful, and on the border of genocide against our fair people!" the masked Mobian shouted.

Everyone then stopped what they were doing, and looked at the masked Mobian.

"For what that man has done, even the most powerful should be put to death!"

"Hear, hear!" someone yelled.

"Robotnik's blood shall run like the desecrated and polluted waterfalls of our fair Mobius! We shall destroy his creations, and burn his home like he has ours."

Cheering was heard throughout the village.

"I shall bring you the head of our oppressor," the masked Mobian shouted, "And it will be those who offer to assist me that shall be hailed as heroes for generations to come!"

"Yeah!" someone else shouted.

"Those that would want Robotnik to be destroyed, completely and utterly, stand with me!"

"But, who are you?" someone asked.

"Who am I?" he asked. "You may address me as _Nightshade_. Friend of those who are oppressed, and enemy of those that oppress!"

The cheers were deafening.


	3. For Great Justice

_One week later, at night._

The silence over Robotnik's city was almost oppressive. The moonlight glinted off of everything in sight, as it was all metallic.

A shadowy figure emerges in plain sight, walking past the city's walls along the main entrance's road. A searchlight lights the intruder's now still frame.

The intruder was clothed in white attire, complete with a raised pointy collar, Dracula-style, and a cloak shrouding the mystery man's arms and legs. He also wore a helmet that obscured his face, and all of his head. It had three segments, two in front, and one in the back that ended at the back of his neck. No skin (or fur) was exposed. The front of the helmet's top segment was reflective, but only on the outside, and that is where the mysterious Mobian could look out of. The other segment, around the area below his nose would be to the base of his jaw, was retractable. Perhaps paranoia had attributed to this outlandish disguise? Or, maybe, it is invaluable to his interests that no one knows who he really is? In any case, it looked _really _snazzy.

"Intruder, prepare for immediate and total destruction in the name of Doctor Robotnik," a robot guard droned, followed by his squad of Eggman bots.

The intruder separated the sides of his cloak, revealing a slim figure underneath. A sheathed sword rested by his side, and he whipped it out and held it before him with a flourish. The person underneath the disguise smiled.

The robots were not to be stopped by this suggestion of a threat.

They surrounded him, and then aimed their laser blasters at him.

The intruder moved like a white tornado. Perhaps not as fast as Sonic the Hedgehog, but fast enough to gouge, slash, and stab all of the bots into a broken heap of spare parts before they could fire.

"I, Nightshade, declare open war upon Doctor Robotnik! Soldiers, attack!" the intruder shouted, pointing his sword at Eggman's headquarters.

Mobians dress in white jackets and visors rushed past Nightshade towards the headquarters armed with swords, axes, and crossbows.

Two Mobians in uniform approached Nightshade after the initial group.

"Captain St. John," Nightshade said, nodding towards him, "And Hershey," he added.

"Yes, sir. The bloody robots barely put up a fight," Geoffrey St. John, a skunk and former agent for the former king, commented.

"We should go, Geoffrey," Hershey suggested, pointing to Robotnik's HQ building.

Geoffrey nodded, and the three ran towards the building, but not after Nightshade tossed his sword on the ground.

Upon entering the building, Nightshade looked around. His troops had taken down the robot guards in the area with no casualties. They were ready to confront the Eggman himself.

"Robotnik..." Nightshade called, "I'm coming for you..." He slowly went up the staircase. His troops followed. Nightshade went through the door to Robotnik's control room, and a steel wall slid over the door behind him. Nightshade was trapped in the control room, and his troops were downstairs. He heard some metallic footsteps. There were robots coming for the others...

Perfect.

"I've come for you, Eggman," Nightshade spat.

"Hmph. That nickname hardly bothers me... so, 'Nightshade', you think you can kill me?" Doctor Robotnik asked, walking closer to Nightshade, contrasting sharply with the machines and flashing lights in the control room. "Pitiful. You charge in here and threaten me, and yet you don't even have a weapon."

"Incorrect, Robotnik," Nightshade said, and drew out a pistol. He then aimed it at Robotnik. With his left hand, he leaned towards one of Robotnik's machines and pressed a button. They were on the air now, and everyone on Mobius would be watching what happened next. "Also, you don't have any robots here to help you."

"Hah! You're going to televise your folly to the entire planet?" Robotnik asked, laughing. "Mobians don't use guns. I think your former king's ancestors saw to that foolish move."

"It's funny that you should say that," Nightshade said, and used his left hand to pull up the front of the helmet.

The camera was centered behind Nightshade, so his face could not be seen.

"Prince..." was all that Robotnik said in his final words when Nightshade pulled the trigger, launching the bullet that would pierce Robotnik's heart, and finally prove that he did indeed actually have one.

Doctor Robotnik fell backwards, jaw dropped, too stunned (and mortally wounded) for words.

Nightshade pulled the retractable front of his helmet down, obscuring his face, and faced the camera.

"Doctor Robotnik is dead," he said blankly, and then turned the camera off.

Everyone on the planet must have cheered in unison, and the fireworks must have lit up the atmosphere.

Nightshade reopened the doors, and opened the casing above the main shutdown lever for the city. He pulled the lever back, and the entire city darkened.

"Nightshade?!" Hershey yelled, and looked at him. "Geoffrey is gone... I wasn't paying attention! I don't know where he is...!"

Nightshade put a gloved hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. War has casualties, but Robotnik is dead."

Hershey began to tear up. "I... I l-l-loved him...!" she shouted, and smacked Nightshade's hand away. She turned around and buried her face in her hands.

"I know," Nightshade said, and sighed. "We should go back to camp. If he wasn't killed before I cut off the power, then he should come."

The soldiers around them nodded, and walked down the staircase. One, Sonic the Hedgehog himself, took one last look at Hershey's distraught expression, and then continued down the stairs. It was dark, but one of the soldiers had a lantern.

"Come, Hershey."

Hershey sniffled, and then followed him down the stairs.

_

Back at the encampment, a shadowy figure entered Nightshade's tent. Nightshade was sitting on his bed, and went through the events of the day in his mind. He sighed. He was still dressed in his disguise, minus the cloak.

"Nightshade," the intruder called quietly.

"Yes, what is it?" Nightshade asked.

The intruder whipped out a serrated combat knife and lunged at Nightshade. Nightshade grabbed the intruder's wrist and started to wrestle the knife out of the intruder's grasp. They wrestled for control of the knife, and the attacker was on top of Nightshade, about to cut him down in his own bed. Nightshade smacked the knife away, and it skidded to the floor.

Nightshade looked at the attacker, and recognized her as Hershey.

"Why, Hershey?" Nightshade asked quietly. "Why did you just try to kill me?"

"You led Geoffrey to his death!" she spat.

"If you had killed me, you'd be the murderer of the person who finally stopped Robotnik's reign of terror. Besides, it isn't my fault that Geoffrey died. He gave his life, if he is actually dead, for the betterment of Mobius. I thought that you of all people would be able to see that."

"I'm... I'm sorry..." Hershey whimpered. She was losing her confidence. "I just..."

"I'm sorry he had to die. I didn't mean for him to. You must know that."

"I... I know... I... just..." she trailed off, and got closer. She was vulnerable. She gently pulled her hand from Nightshade's grip, and pulled the first part of his mask up, revealing a brown, furry chin. Nightshade grabbed her hand before she could pull up more than his nose, which was surprisingly slender, much like his sharp chin.

Hershey let go of the helmet, and then pressed her lips against Nightshade's. He did not speak, however.

Hershey smiled, and put her hands around the top button of the white jacket, and undid the button.

Nightshade grabbed her hand and shook his head silently for a distinctly obvious 'no'.

"I'm... I'm sorry... I don't know what..." Hershey paused, "Came over me..."

Nightshade was silent as she stood up and walked out of the tent, but not before looking back. When she was gone, he took off his helmet. He was tired, and would now go to sleep.


	4. Unmasked

_**Author's note: If you like the story, then review. If you don't, I'll kill myself. Seriously. However! We now join our heroes...**_

_Two weeks later!_

Hershey the Cat looked around the Mobians rebuilding the city of Knothole. Even after the assassination of Doctor Robotnik, there were still problems in the world. The Acorn family was gone, well, except for Prince Elias. Hershey sighed. She was pretty sure that Prince Elias was Nightshade, the hero that had ended Robotnik's reign of terror and freed all of Mobius from his oppression. Hershey sighed again. Well, at least sixty-percent sure.

"Ceeteezins of Knothole, I preesent: Monsieur Nightshade!" General Antoine yelled, pointing at the still-disguised figure walking into the village center with one of his guards. Hershey raised an eyebrow. Why would Prince El- ... Nightshade... still hide his identity when it was pretty obvious to her... and, perhaps, lots of Mobians, who he was. Everyone knew that he had disappeared around the time of Nightshade's debut, and Robotnik had gotten "Prince" out just before he died. Hershey had also seen his brown fur, but not all of his face. Hershey sighed again. Wondering why he chose to hide his face would get no one anywhere. Did it even really matter? He had saved the world.

"Greetings, citizens of Knothole!" Nightshade greeted, "I understand that the building effort is proceeding nicely?"

"Yep," a turtle said, pointing at the chili dog stand. "All of the important buildings are our top priority."

A few people laughed, including Nightshade. "Well, I hope that Sir Charles can take up his post again," he said, "He makes a great chili dog."

"I agree," said Sonic the Hedgehog quietly, who was now one of Nightshade's personal guards.

Hershey looked at his expression. There was no emotion on his face. After Sally was lost, Sonic lost his carefree and upbeat personality. Now, he was quiet and sullen. It didn't help that Tails had stopped talking to him. Tails had moved to another village to help with their rebuilding efforts.

Hershey was glad that he still wanted to help everyone, though. If you wanted to help Mobius, Nightshade was the man to work for. Hershey smiled. Nightshade had said that he had an important announcement, and would announce it to the people of Knothole today.

"Indeed!" Nightshade commented, and turned on the microphone on the podium in the center of Knothole. "Everyone, I have an announcement."

Everyone quickly stopped what they were doing and gathered around in front of the podium.

"As we all know, Doctor Robotnik's evil reign of terror as the would-be dictator of Mobius is over," Nightshade said, and the crowd cheered. Nightshade raised a hand to quiet them. "Now, in order to help Knothole grow and for all of Mobius to prosper, I declare myself supreme dictator for life over all of Mobius."

The crowd went suddenly quiet. Sonic, standing next to Nightshade, turned his head and looked at him with a deeply confused expression. Hershey, standing in the crowd, saw him mouth 'What are you doing?'

"Was... was I the only one that heard that?" someone in the crowd asked aloud.

"Now, of course, someone here might think that they're brave and try to stop me," Nightshade continued, and whipped out a pistol.

"Oh, would you like that?" someone shouted.

"I _like _having a hostage..." Nightshade said, and quickly wrapped his arm around Sonic's throat, and held his gun to Sonic's temple. Sonic was fast, but that really didn't help when he was in a headlock.

"Anyone makes a move, and Mister True Blue Hero won't be making any moves," Nightshade paused theatrically, "_Ever again_."

Someone in the crowd began to cry.

Hershey's eyes darted between Nightshade and Sonic. There had to be something that she could do to help Sonic...? Why was Nightshade doing this? Hershey thought that Prince Elias... _Nightshade_... why would...?

"Hershey!" Nightshade yelled. "Come with me!"

Hershey stiffened, but didn't move.

"Hershey..." Nightshade growled, "Come with me or I'll shoot him."

Hershey sighed, and then quietly walked towards Nightshade.

"Everybody else, stay right here!" Nightshade shouted, and then fired two bullets into the air.

Someone else in the crowd began to cry, too.

Nightshade began to walk with Sonic in tow into the ruins of Castle Acorn.

"The throne room. I haven't been here for a long time..." Nightshade muttered quietly.

There was a large stained glass window above the two thrones. Or, at least there was, until a shouting Geoffrey St. John crashed through it.

"Geoffrey!" Hershey gasped.

Nightshade raised his hands as a reflex action, and dropped Sonic and the gun. Sonic gasped for breath, grabbed the gun, and leaped a few feet away from Nightshade. Geoffrey landed on top of Nightshade, and the two engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Geoffrey threw a punch that smacked into Nightshade's helmet, and Nightshade kicked him off.

Geoffrey fell backwards, almost into Sonic, but recovered.

"Wait, Geoffrey," Sonic warned. He aimed the gun at Nightshade.

"Your hostile takeover is about to end before it begins, _Nightshade," _Geoffrey snapped.

"Geoffrey... I thought that you were..." Hershey whispered.

"Well, I got kidnapped by one of Robotnik's robots, and it didn't help when the power went off. It's kind of hard to find your way back in a pitch black city," he replied quietly.

Nightshade chuckled, much to the confusion of everyone in the throne room. Soon, the chuckling dissolved in full, shaking laughter. It stopped suddenly. "Go ahead. Shoot me."

Sonic hesitated, but only for a split second. "This one is for Sally," he said quietly.

He aimed for Nightshade's forehead, and fired. The bullet zoomed through the musty air of the throne room, pinged off of the top of Nightshade's helmet, and crashed into one of the parts of the stained glass window that weren't destroyed by Geoffrey's dramatic entrance. Sonic was about to fire another shot, when a crack spread from the top down on the helmet.

The crack worked its way down, and then reached the bottom. The mask split in half, each half seeming to take its time falling to the ground as time itself slowed down to nothing more than a crawl. No, less than that. The sands of time were almost frozen for the two seconds it took for the halves of the mask to hit the fine carpet of the throne room.

Sonic dropped the pistol.

Geoffrey stared blankly.

Hershey's mouth dropped open.

"Yes, yes, I'm exactly who you see before you," the now revealed Nightshade said quietly, albeit in a different voice than the one heard when the helmet was on, "There is no trickery involved. I can explain it all if you'd all like that..."

"My god," Hershey said quietly. "I was falling in love with you."

"Say what?" Geoffrey muttered, eyeing Hershey suspiciously. "Okay, number one, that's kind of twisted and sick. Number two, what am I, chopped liver?"

Sonic fell to his knees.

"What is it, Sonic? Hurt? Confused?" Nightshade asked, with a disturbing smile plastered across the speaker's lips. "Maybe even the least bit... shocked?"

Sonic looked up. "Why?" he asked.

"Because I _could?_ Because I _wanted to?_ Do I even need a reason?" The former wearer of the mask asked.

"You disappeared from your village, killed Doctor Robotnik, and declare yourself the one to take his _place?_ _You of all people?!"_ Sonic demanded.

Hershey had begun to cry.

The former wearer of the mask, killer of Doctor Robotnik, all around mysterious character, and member of the Acorn family _Princess Sally_ flipped her hair back and flashed a vicious smile. "I wanted revenge..." she said quietly, "Revenge against Robotnik for finally getting to my parents, revenge against my brother Prince Elias for leaving all that time ago and allowing it to happen... and revenge against all of Mobius for doing nothing to stop Nack the Weasel from killing them, and making me slaughter my brother in cold blood."

Sonic and Geoffrey's mouths dropped in unison.

"That's why..." Sonic said quietly.

"Your brother disappeared...?!" Geoffrey shouted, finishing Sonic's statement.

"It's not my fault, not really..." Sally whispered, as she pulled out a combat knife. "This is the knife that I did it with. He was happy to see me at first, wondering why I had purposely found his camp in the Great Forest... seeing him must have snapped me back to sanity. This was after I left Knothole... the memories came rushing back in entirety. He kept saying how it wasn't his fault that my parents died, and that how he was going for revenge against Robotnik..." Sally inhaled deeply.

_"Lies, lies, LIES!"_she shouted, as she spun around and began slashing the soft fabric of one of the Acorn thrones. "Take _this, _and _THIS, _you... you...!"

Geoffrey shook his head sadly.

Sally was breathing hard now. "Hah... and... and it was just like this..." She ran her tongue along the flat side of the knife.

"You... _monster!_" Hershey shouted, and then picked up the discarded pistol on the floor. She aimed it at Sally.

"Stick and stones may break your bones, but words can _kill..._" Sally sneered, throwing off her cloak. She spun the combat knife around her hand, held it downwards, and ran head-on at Hershey.

Hershey's grip on the gun shook as Sally approached. "Screw you!" she yelled.

"I'm a mask. I'm a _lie," _Sally shouted, raising the knife. The gun fired, but the bullet missed Sally. "You even thought I was my _lying _brother..."

"Then just kill me!" Hershey yelled, spreading her arms wide as if to embrace death itself.

"Gladly!" Sally muttered, swinging the blade down with all of her might, and sinking the blade into Geoffrey, who had jumped in front of Hershey in the nick of time. The blade plunged deep inside his chest, and Sonic looked blankly at him as he stood shaking for a few seconds, and then collapsed onto the ground after Sally slid the blade out of his chest.. Blood began to spread in a crimson puddle.

Hershey stared at Geoffrey, and fell to her knees. "No... no...!"

Sally bent over and snatched the gun. "I'll take that," she said, looking down at Hershey with a wide, demented smile. With the knife in her right hand and the gun in the other, she drew the knife close to her mouth and closed her lips around the blade. She dragged the knife slowly and carefully, as to not miss a drop, and to not cut herself. She then licked her lips. "So eager to die, yet so unwilling that Geoffrey die. Strange, isn't it?"

"You're sick, Sally," Sonic said, his voice breaking. "You're completely demented..."

"Lies. _Lies! _All I hear anymore is the lies, the _lies, the lies!_" she screeched. She sheathed the blade and reloaded the pistol. "Not anymore. I shall smash Mobius in the same manner that it has smashed me," Sally roared, voice quavering with insanity, "And once Mobius lies crushed and defeated, I'll have my _revenge!" _She aimed at a beam supporting the throne room's ceiling, and fired. The bullet made a clean hole through the beam, and it began to collapse under the pressure of the ceiling.

As the debris began to fall, Sonic realized that he should probably save Hershey and... Geoffrey. Not to mention himself.

"Oh, and Sonic?" Sally asked, and Sonic looked at her. "You could have probably saved him, you know." Sally's chilling laugh echoed as more debris fell, obscuring her escape to the point where it seemed as though she vanished on the spot.

"She played us all, Sonic," Hershey whispered.

"I have to get you two out of here, this place is coming down!" Sonic yelled, tugging on her arm.

"No," Hershey whispered.

"Yes!" Sonic yelled, pulling her up and half-tossing her out of the door. He ran back to grab Geoffrey, but the collapsing castle made a pile of debris right on top of him, squelching his already escaping life forever.

"No!" Sonic yelled. He looked at the door of the collapsing building, and ran towards it. He dived out just as the entire castle crumbled to a pile of wood and stone. The Acorn flag rested on top of the pile.

And as Sonic stood with Hershey, and all of the citizens of Knothole saw the ruins of Castle Acorn, Sonic knew that the battle would be long and drawn out, but it would be him that would have to strike the final blow.

Even as he told the citizens of Knothole the true identity of 'Nightshade', he felt even more cold and distant from his life than when he thought Sally was dead.

Yes. It would be him that would end it.

_Sally..._

**To be continued.**

**Sequel's up. Go read.**


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